Floating Home on the Columbia River with Private Moorage — $130,000

You are living on the water. Not near it, not with a view of it from a yard — on it. This is a floating home on the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, and that is the whole point of the place.

The home is 550 square feet, built in 2002, one bedroom and one bath. It is a small space, and you should know that going in. But what it trades in square footage it gives back on the deck. The wrap-around deck puts you out over the river on all sides. You get the water, the sky, the movement. That is where you will spend your time, and it is a legitimate reason to buy this over anything with a yard and a fence.

The moorage is included, and it fits a boat up to 21 feet. If you have a boat, or want one, you leave from here. No hauling to a launch, no waiting in line. You walk out, you get in, you go.

The space lease covers water, sewer, and trash. That simplifies the math a little. You will want to know the monthly lease amount and what the terms look like before you get attached, because that number matters as much as the purchase price when you are thinking about what this actually costs you month to month.

At 550 square feet, the interior is what it is. One bedroom, one bath, nothing sprawling. The agent description calls it updated but does not say what was updated or when, so treat that loosely until you see it in person. The bones of a floating home require different maintenance thinking than a house on land, so go in knowing you will want to look at the hull and the mechanical systems with someone who knows what they are looking at.

But here is the thing. You can buy a lot of ordinary houses for $130,000, or close to it, in a lot of ordinary places. This is a floating home on a major river with a deck all the way around it and a slip for your boat. That is a specific kind of life, and for the person who wants it, the square footage stops being the point pretty fast.

Originally listed for $130,000, this property sold for $80,000 on December 18, 2024.